Participation Rate In Catalonia's General Strike In Most Sectors Less Than 50% - Gov't

Participation Rate in Catalonia's General Strike in Most Sectors Less Than 50% - Gov't

Less than half of the labor force across a majority of sectors in Spain's semi-autonomous Catalonia region, where a general strike is taking place on Friday, are participating in the action, the region's government said

BARCELONA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th October, 2019) Less than half of the labor force across a majority of sectors in Spain's semi-autonomous Catalonia region, where a general strike is taking place on Friday, are participating in the action, the region's government said.

Catalonia is under a region-wide general strike on Friday following mobilization calls from two Catalan pro-independence trade unions. The strike has affected public services in various sectors, including transportation, education and health services. However, agencies continue to provide minimal services to the public, as required by government regulation.

"[About] 30 percent of public officials are participating in the strike," the Catalan Ministry of Employment said.

Other sectors also showed a relatively low participation level in the strike � 26.3 percent of employees in the public health and 43 percent in the public education sector joined the strike, the ministry said.

However, 90 percent of university employees and up to 80 percent of businesses owners have not shown up to work on Friday.

In the transportation sector, the regional government said that there had been a 50 percent decrease in metro riders on Friday, while only 36 percent of metro employees participated in the strike, according to the El Pais news outlet.

The strike was launched as part of continued efforts by Catalan pro-independence activists to protest the Spanish Supreme Court's Monday ruling to sentence nine Catalan leaders to lengthy prison terms for their involvement in the region's unsanctioned 2017 independence referendum.